Jacob PoV
Bella had been right. I hadn't gotten enough sleep the last few days. I was always either running patrol or been with her. I didn't want it any other way. I'd rather never sleep again than not see her but even though I had acted like it didn't matter, the sleep deprivation was getting to me.
I looked over at Paul who was patrolling the area with me. His bright eyes shone in the dark while the rest of his body was almost invisible.
Everything alright? I asked him.
He snorted and shook his head. I don't like this one bit. She's always coming, testing us and then vanishes into thin air. She's a coward, always avoiding direct combat
Or she is very intelligent. She hopes that someday we'll make a mistake and then she'll be there to use it to her advantage. By going back and forth again she tries to exhaust us
An intelligent bloodsucker? Not very likely
I sighed internally and let the matter drop. Paul's hatred against bloodsuckers was legendary. To him they were hardly more than leeches, incapable of thinking or feeling anything than pure bloodlust. Trying to convince him otherwise was a lost cause.
I looked in the direction of Bella's house. About an hour ago she had woken up screaming again and since then the light in her room hadn't gone out. Maybe she was too scared to sleep. The events of the day must have gotten to her and I yearned to be at her side, to make her feel safe and chase away the nightmares.
But at least for now my duty lay elsewhere. I had to protect her the only way I could right now and that was to make sure no bloodsucker could get to her.
Leaves rustled and then Leah and Seth appeared.
Sam sent us to help you. It's all quiet elsewhere and so the most likely spot this vampire-bitch will attack is her house. The slim silver wolf that was Leah took a look in the direction of Bella's house too, then shook her fur. It had begun to drizzle again, and we all felt equally miserable.
What a night Seth chimed in. The first sunny day in years and it had to be interrupted by a damn bloodsucker
Watch your language, kid Leah gave him a blow on the head with her front paw. He looked angrily at his bigger sister but didn't say anything else.
I just hope she is stupid enough to come here tonight. I'm in the mood for a bit of leech-hunting
I don't think she'll come, not with the four of us around I answered, walking around the woods.
You never know. If I hadn't known better, I thought I could see a bloodthirsty grin on Paul's wolf face. Sometimes, he began to worry me. All this hatred he felt towards the bloodsuckers wasn't right. None of us liked them and we fought against them with all our might but this uncontrollable hatred and anger that threatened to overcome Paul each time we were on a hunt wasn't normal. Maybe I should talk to Sam sometimes about this. As our pack leader it was up to him to bring him back to heel. But something held me back. Sam and I had never gotten along very well, although he had been very kind when I had first phased and was totally freaked out by what had happened. He had taken me into his house, calmly explained everything to me and then helped me to get control over my werewolf side. For this I would always owe him but that didn't mean I had to like every decision he made.
I thought of Bella and if she was already asleep again. I hoped so. She shouldn't have to face the terrors of the night alone. The constant fight between centuries-old creatures, the pain, the bloodshed. She was my safe haven, the one pure spot where I could rest when everything became too much.
Come on, let's check out the northern side again I signalled Paul and we both ran off.
I love you Bells. Be safe...